Hello everyone. This is my first post as I was looking for some help. If a person living in New Jersey owned an UZI 9MM assault rifle and registered it properly with the police when they were banned, and the ban now sunsetted, had passed away 10 years ago. The gun basically sat and was given to his son who recently mover to Maryland. The son legally owns another pistol and is not barred from owning guns due to a conviction or any other reason. Can the son now go to the range in Maryland to use the UZI and if he wanted to can he legally sell it ? Also a Smith and Wesson .38 polise special was inherited. Thank you Joe
gun inheritance
- Thread starter joeyuk
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carguychris
New member
Two critical pieces of information are unclear from this post.joeyuk said:
- Were the guns specifically bequeathed to the son and held back for 10 years for some reason (will was contested in court, son was underage, etc.), or were the guns inherited by someone else and given to the son because that person didn't want them anymore?
- Is the Uzi a full-auto submachine gun OR is it a "pre-ban" legal configuration, i.e. a short-barrel semi-auto pistol with no provisions for a shoulder stock, or a shoulder-stocked semi-auto rifle with a long (and awkward-looking) 16"+ projecting barrel?
2ndsojourn
New member
Your post contains a few issues and questions. I can only help with the NJ issues. (And if someone points out any errors please correct me.)
Firstly, in NJ, the 'assault weapon' ban never 'sunsetted'. After a certain date, registration of 'assault weapons' was closed. (NJ compliant 'assault weapons' are still legal (as long as it has no more than two evil features)). You will need to contact a lawyer with experience with NJ gun laws to determine if the transfer of a registered 'assault weapon' is permitted.
Was the transfer of the 'assault weapon' before he moved to MD or after? And was it an actual bequest by a will, or some other conveyance? It matters greatly. If the transfer was after he moved to MD and was not a proper bequest by inheritance, the transfer should've gone through a FFL. Then MD laws come into play which will determine whether the gun is legal in MD.
That's all I can help with.
Firstly, in NJ, the 'assault weapon' ban never 'sunsetted'. After a certain date, registration of 'assault weapons' was closed. (NJ compliant 'assault weapons' are still legal (as long as it has no more than two evil features)). You will need to contact a lawyer with experience with NJ gun laws to determine if the transfer of a registered 'assault weapon' is permitted.
Was the transfer of the 'assault weapon' before he moved to MD or after? And was it an actual bequest by a will, or some other conveyance? It matters greatly. If the transfer was after he moved to MD and was not a proper bequest by inheritance, the transfer should've gone through a FFL. Then MD laws come into play which will determine whether the gun is legal in MD.
That's all I can help with.
The father passed away 10 years ago and everything was left to his wife. She has let it sit but told the son he could have it. The son was over 30 when the dad died and moved to MD. a year ago. The UZI is semi-automatic with a folding stock. It is a pre ban UZI. Also I may have been thinking of the federal ban the sunsetted leaving it up to each state.
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carguychris
New member
OK, so we've established that the son did NOT directly inherit the firearms. Other points remain ambiguous, however.joeyuk said:
- Did the son take possession of the weapons before or after moving to MD?
- If it was afterwards, were the firearms transferred to the son by a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL)?
I'm not a lawyer, and for answers you can count on, you should see one, NOT the slip & fall injury guys, but one experienced in firearm law.
I'd say, if the son, and the Uzi (semi auto rifle, which is an "assault weapon" ONLY IN CERTAIN STATES, in the rest of the country its just a rifle) if both are in Maryland, and LEGAL IN MARYLAND, then there is really, no issue.
So, the laws you need to check, first, are Maryland laws. I don't know Maryland law, sorry.
Again, get a lawyer, to be certain there are several possibilities and differing legal aspects, depending on what applies in your specific case.
OK, based on what you said, Dad had the Uzi, all legal and registered in NJ. Dad passes on 10years ago. Wife inherits, (all legal and registered with NJ, right???)
Wife GIFTS gun to son (after 10 years), so son does NOT legally inherit the gun in NJ. here's where it starts to get more complex.
Gifts are covered under specific language
Immediate Family members are covered under (other) specific language
In state, and out of state resident transfers are covered under different language and laws. (both state and Federal)
IF, for example, Mom & son are both NJ residents when the transfer of OWNERSHIP is made, NJ laws apply. If the son possessed it in NJ, and took it with him when he moved to Maryland, Maryland laws apply.
IF the son lived in, and owned the gun in NJ (legally) and left it there when he moved, and came back for it later, and HE took it back to Maryland, Maryland laws apply. If he was a Maryland resident when he became the owner of the gun, then Federal laws apply to the transfer, and state laws apply to possession. If the gun was SENT to him in Maryland, Fed law applies, as well as Maryland.
Yes, tis a can of worms, and possibly a law(s) was broken through ignorance. GET A LAWYER, and find out.
It is possible that since the son, and the gun are legally in Maryland now, HOW it got there might not matter. On the other hand, it might, and I cannot say. Get a lawyer in MD, and see what they say. Everything we can tell you here is just (well intentioned) guesswork.
Good Luck!
I'd say, if the son, and the Uzi (semi auto rifle, which is an "assault weapon" ONLY IN CERTAIN STATES, in the rest of the country its just a rifle) if both are in Maryland, and LEGAL IN MARYLAND, then there is really, no issue.
So, the laws you need to check, first, are Maryland laws. I don't know Maryland law, sorry.
Again, get a lawyer, to be certain there are several possibilities and differing legal aspects, depending on what applies in your specific case.
OK, based on what you said, Dad had the Uzi, all legal and registered in NJ. Dad passes on 10years ago. Wife inherits, (all legal and registered with NJ, right???)
Wife GIFTS gun to son (after 10 years), so son does NOT legally inherit the gun in NJ. here's where it starts to get more complex.
Gifts are covered under specific language
Immediate Family members are covered under (other) specific language
In state, and out of state resident transfers are covered under different language and laws. (both state and Federal)
IF, for example, Mom & son are both NJ residents when the transfer of OWNERSHIP is made, NJ laws apply. If the son possessed it in NJ, and took it with him when he moved to Maryland, Maryland laws apply.
IF the son lived in, and owned the gun in NJ (legally) and left it there when he moved, and came back for it later, and HE took it back to Maryland, Maryland laws apply. If he was a Maryland resident when he became the owner of the gun, then Federal laws apply to the transfer, and state laws apply to possession. If the gun was SENT to him in Maryland, Fed law applies, as well as Maryland.
Yes, tis a can of worms, and possibly a law(s) was broken through ignorance. GET A LAWYER, and find out.
It is possible that since the son, and the gun are legally in Maryland now, HOW it got there might not matter. On the other hand, it might, and I cannot say. Get a lawyer in MD, and see what they say. Everything we can tell you here is just (well intentioned) guesswork.
Good Luck!
Frank Ettin
Administrator
So, to restate what 44 AMP said in somewhat different terms:
Because it's possible that there might be some real legal problems here, this matter should not be discussed further here in public.
- The son did not inherit the guns. The widow inherited the guns.
- Assuming she inherited and took possession in New Jersey, she would need to comply with New Jersey law.
- New Jersey is not firearm friendly and has a number of technical laws relating to the acquisition and possession of guns.
- I have no information about what the rules are or how they would apply here (and we might not have enough information in any case).
- Exactly what happened and how it happened will need to be reviewed with a qualified lawyer to determine if any New Jersey laws were violated and, if so, how to deal with that.
- Assuming she inherited and took possession in New Jersey, she would need to comply with New Jersey law.
- If the widow made a gift of those guns to the son, both she and he would need to comply with applicable law.
- If the son was a resident of New Jersey at the time, the transfer would need to comply with New Jersey law.
- If he had already moved to Maryland, the transfer would need to comply with federal law (as an interstate transfer) and Maryland law. Federal law would require that the transfer go through an FFL with all the usual formalities (e. g., completion of a 4473, etc.).
- As a resident of Maryland now, the son's possession of the guns would need to comply with Maryland law.
- Exactly what happened and how it happened will need to be reviewed with a qualified lawyer to determine if any New Jersey, federal and/or Maryland laws were violated and, if so, how to deal with that.
- If the son was a resident of New Jersey at the time, the transfer would need to comply with New Jersey law.
Because it's possible that there might be some real legal problems here, this matter should not be discussed further here in public.
Frank Ettin
Administrator
I thinks we've done all we can do here.
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